


maybe you didn’t break (the way you shoulda broke)

by delorange



Category: EastEnders (TV)
Genre: 35th anniversary, Angst, Boat rides, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Violence, ben is livid, keanu comes back
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:07:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22366897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delorange/pseuds/delorange
Summary: keanu’s back, and he’s found the best way way to get back at ben
Relationships: Callum "Halfway" Highway/Ben Mitchell
Kudos: 71





	maybe you didn’t break (the way you shoulda broke)

**Author's Note:**

> my first fic with ballum! set after the spoilers for this week, so they’re back together but there’s still some issues with trust etc. any mistakes are my own, hope it’s up to scratch :)

Ben searched the deck, barely managing to conceal his anger. He was sure Callum had noticed, but Mick had occupied him for the time being, leaving Ben the opportunity to find Martin fucking Fowler. Bex and Sonia were stood across from him, on the other side of the boat, but the patriarch was nowhere to be seen. 

He wasn't planning to kill him, no, the guilt when he thought he'd killed Keanu was too much (not that he would admit it to anyone). Maybe just life-threatening injuries would do. Linda Carter would be on the list too, if she wasn't doing a bang up job of fucking her life up already. Ben wasn't needed for that. 

Then he spotted him. At the back of the boat, wringing his hands and looking nervous. So he should. Ben crept up behind him, hooking an arm around his neck. "Shh. Don't say a word." Martin grunted, wriggling a bit but stopping when Ben tightened his grasp. He removed his arm, wrenching Martin's hands behind his back and steering him inside, into a dark corridor. 

He landed a solid punch to his jaw before Martin even had the bright idea of trying to fight back. He swung for Ben's nose, but Ben caught his fist, twisting it behind Martin's back, relishing his cry of pain. "Ya thought ya could leave Keanu alive and get away with it, could ya?" Ben let out a hollow laugh. "Not with a Mitchell."

He spun Martin around, kneeing him in the guts. He keeled over on the ground, and Ben lifted his foot to deliver a blow to the head. A strangled shout rang clear, and Ben lowered his foot. "Ben- mmph!" Callum. Without a second glance at Martin he rushed outside, looking frantically for his boyfriend. 

His throat constricted. Keanu, pressing Callum into the railings, a stretch of an arm away from throwing him overboard. Ben sprinted the length of the boat to the front deck. He roughly pushed through the crowd. "Keanu!" He roared. 

"Not nice, is it? Not being in control." He edged Callum a little further over the white metal. The water was cold and dark, surely a murky grave for anyone who dared to go in. Callum's eyes flashed with fear, and Ben had never wanted to kill a person more in that moment. Anger coursed through his body like fire, eyes burning into Keanu filled with hatred. 

Then they fell on Callum. Poor Callum, scared for his life because of his involvement with Ben once again. "Ben, I-"

"Shut it, you!" Keanu swiftly connected his foot with his shin, and he groaned, biting down hard on his lip to avoid any greater reaction. Anything that would give Keanu satisfaction. "All of ya! Say a word, an' he's in!" He pointed a finger at the gathering of Walford residents. Even Sharon, who was just beginning to open her mouth, closed it. Nobody wanted to put Callum at risk, and they all knew Ben was the best chance they had at getting him safe. 

"Oi!" Ben lurched forwards, as Jay grabbed his arm. Ben shook him off without so much as a glance back. "Callum has nothing to do with this! Throw me off this fuckin' boat, leave him alone!"

Keanu attempted a twisted smirk. "No, Ben, you ruined my life. I'm gonna return the favour, ain't I?" He spat on Callum's cheek, and yet more rage injected Ben's being. He suppressed it, trying to seem unbothered, in control. The two things he had never been further away from. 

"No ya not. Ya bluffin', when it comes down to it, ya ain't gonna hurt Callum. Cos ya ain't like me, or at least ya don't want ta be." He turned around, addressing the crowd. He caught sight of his mum with Lola, clutching onto each other with bated breath. His felt a pang in his heart, then he saw his dad, and he remembered where he was going with it all. "All of you know! If it was Sharon, she'd be well over now!"

He seemed to hit a vein. "I don't- !"

Ben quickly cut him off. "But it's you, Keanu. So let 'im go, an' have a crack at me, like ya know ya want to." Ben stared Keanu down, taunting him with the prospect of bloodying Ben up. 

Karen stepped in, and Ben rolled his eyes. "Keanu, my boy... let him go, come on. It's me, it's ya mum-"

"Shut up, mum! Just shut up!" Ben watched Keanu's face cycle through conflicted emotions. His grip fractionally loosened on Callum's jacket, before he pulled the man up, shoving him in Ben's direction. Callum staggered towards him, collapsing into his arms. 

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I love you." Ben whispered in his ear, holding him tight. There was commotion around him, but Ben didn't notice, he was focused on Callum, always, focused on Callum. He was here. He was safe. Callum just shook his head, shushing him, holding him just as tight. With a final squeeze, Ben let go, lightly pushing him towards Mick and Kathy. 

He turned back towards the scene unfolding in front of him. Karen and Mitch were trying with all their might to stop Phil from murdering Keanu, as Sharon wailed and Louise trembled in the corner. "Stop!" His voice seemed to silence the whole Thames, all of London, even. "Keanu wants my blood. Let 'im have a crack at it."

"Ben, don't." Callum provided a voice of reason, but it wasn't one he would listen to. 

"He's the worst kind of person, Callum. He needs to get what he's had coming for months, years, even." He resisted the urge to be blunt, to just tell him to fuck off, like he would have been with anyone else. He wanted to put the effort in to reassure Callum, as best as he could. "Get off 'im, dad. He's clearly out for me."

The ease at which Phil stepped away, allowing his son to do his dirty work for him yet again, only added fuel to the fire. Karen begged and pleaded one last time, but it fell on deaf ears, Ben now lasered in on Keanu. 

Keanu let out a shriek, running at Ben. Ben ducked, just scraping Keanu's jaw. He went again, this time landing it hard, knocking Keanu back. He locked eyes with Ben as he spat blood, before catching him off guard and shattering his nose. Ben heard the bones crack, and so did everyone else, it seemed. Callum yelped. His watering eyes clouded his view, and Keanu took this opportunity to plant his foot on Ben's chest, kicking him to the ground. 

Ben smirked. He lunged for Keanu's leg, pulling it out from underneath him and flooring the man. Ben quickly got a leg over him and punched his pretty little face, over and over and over until he was long unconscious. Callum and Lola had hands at his shoulders, literally dragging him off Keanu. 

"Ben... look at you." Callum breathed, ghosting his long fingers over Ben's injuries. Blood dripped over his clothes, onto the floor, all over himself and Keanu. Jay appeared out of nowhere with a cloth, holding it to Ben's nose - or, what was left of it. There was a very clear divide, at least with the Mitchell's, a crowd around Ben and a very different crowd around Keanu, who was just about regaining consciousness. 

Phil stood back, detached from all the commotion. Ben saw this, and all the anger reignited in him. He had put himself out there, endangered Callum, and not even a clap on the back. Not even a glance his way. "Last time I ever do anything for that bastard."

"Did you say something?" Lola was looking concerned, but Ben stood up anyway. He was conscious he was swaying, but he slowly made his way in front of Phil. The boat fell silent again, all eyes on the next development.

"You are no dad to me, Phil. I want nothing to do with ya ever again, ya piece of shit." Phil didn't even react as the boat was thrown into conflict again. Moments later, it ground to a halt, back at dry land. Ben was first off, Callum at his side with Lola, Jay, Kathy, Ian, Stuart, to name a few, following behind. 

Callum reached for Ben's hand as they slowed to a stop at the end of the jetty. The rest of the group continued walking, probably so they didn't disturb. "We need to get ya to a hospital."

Ben couldn't meet Callum's eyes. He was riddled with guilt. He put Callum in danger, yet again, and Callum was sweeping it under the carpet, yet again. "I'm so sorry, Cal, I'm so, so sorry. I get it if ya want to pack ya bags."

Callum scoffed. "Don't be silly, Ben, we're past this." But Ben pressed on. 

"Yeah, but that was hypothetical. 'You might be in danger, you could get hurt'. That was real. You could have died, Cal, and it would've been my fault." Ben desperately tugged on Callum's lapels, tears slipping down his face. 

Callum cupped Ben's face, staring hard into his eyes. "Are you walking away? After everything, are you calling it off?" His tone was light, as if he already knew the answer. 

"No-"

"Good, because I'm not either." Callum pulled Ben against his chest, ignoring his protests and his efforts to keep his distance. They stood in comfortable silence for a minute before Callum spoke again. "I told you, I can handle it all. I want to, for you." Ben pulled away to press a kiss to Callum's lips, and they walked away, together.


End file.
